Teachers within Jackson Local School District will receive annual pay raises during each year of a new three-year contract.

The school system's Board of Education on Friday approved the new contract, retroactive to July 1. Expiration date is June 30, 2016.

The pay raise schedule is 1 percent in the first year, 1.5 percent in the second and 2 percent for the final year.

"It is your ability to pay at the time you negotiate," Superintendent Chris DiLoreto said. "What we try to do is balance a competitive contract within the Stark County marketplace with being fiscally responsible."

The teachers' bargaining unit is the Jackson Memorial Education Association. The contract covers teachers at Jackson High School, the middle school and four elementary schools.

Annual base salary for a beginning teacher with a bachelor's degree will be $34,668. Along with scheduled pay raises, teachers will receive lump-sum payments of 1 percent of their base salary in the first year of the contract and 0.5 percent in the second year.

"That does not go on to their base salary going forward," DiLoreto said. "There is no lump-sum payment in the third year."

Attempts to contact Susan Ray, president of the teachers' union, were not successful.

"All employees will pay 12 percent of the health-care premium during the course of the contract," DiLoreto said.

Negotiations began in April. One element that prolonged negotiations, according to DiLoreto, was the inclusion of provisions concerning new state mandates for teacher evaluations.

"We had to work through the teacher evaluation process," DiLoreto said. "That is part of all negotiations."